One mom's attempt at finding good in every day of this chaotic world.

Routine March 30, 2010

I’ve talked about our desire for change. We crave it. But at the same time, I love a sense of routine. I was reminded of this a couple of weekends ago.

We had a pretty busy weekend – car checkup, termite inspection, yard work, haircut, visit with Meema, and brunch with friends (more about this in a later post). It was fun, though. Mostly routine things that went off without a hitch. After the brunch on Sunday, we had nothing planned but felt we needed to get out of the house. We took a trip up to Annapolis just for fun. Why not go to Target in Annapolis? Yes, it is a break from our routine of going to the Rockville Target or the Cherry Hill Target, but in a way just getting out for new adventures has become routine for us. So we explored a new area and enjoyed a nice early spring day.

On the way home, though, I realized I needed to get to the grocery store. The kids were begging for the park, so we split up. Jeremy went with the kids to the park, and I went to the store. I pulled into our small grocery store parking lot (gotta love Sniders!) and just fell into routine. I easily parked, got my cart and started on my journey through the stores. I knew exactly where to go. It’s a small store, so you can easily go down every aisle and still get out of there within 15 minutes. But on days like that day where I knew exactly what I needed from my short list, I only hit up the aisles that I needed. I went to my normal cashier, enjoyed a friendly (routine) greeting with him, paid for my groceries, and headed back out to the car… all within 7 minutes.

As I raced home to put the groceries away so I could join the rest of the family at the park, I relished in my situation. We live 2 blocks from this small grocery store, and I am there on almost a daily basis going through this same routine. I see familiar faces (although none that I would start a conversation with – again, another blog for another time) and buy familiar things. It is my routine, and I love it.

As Jeremy and I continue to talk about the next phase in our life, I can’t help but think about the great life we have built here in Silver Spring in our little 2-mile microcosm. We have a great routine that does not involve long commutes, traffic, lines at the grocery store, or cross-town pickup schedules. The kids go to schools across the street from each other. Yes, their pickup times are different, but since it is only 1.5 miles from our house, I don’t mind the multiple drives. Jeremy can scooter to work, which has allowed us to be a one car family for a year and a half. I work only 3 blocks from home, so I have been able to quickly run home to meet plumbers, delivery people, etc. The grocery store is 2 blocks away, so I can quickly get last minute needs. The park is 1 block away, so we can take the kids there for the 15 minutes between dinner and bathtime (in the summer hours, of course!) And when Mason goes to kindergarten (which she will do officially in 2011), we can walk the 4 blocks to her elementary school every day.

Why would we want to give up this great life? We have a great routine, and I really appreciate it and am thankful for it. I know that whatever we decide, if there is change, I will find new routines. But I can’t help but think of how much I will miss my current routines. There are not many places in this country (that we can afford) that allow us to live this life of proximity. But I know that proximity is not all that we desire in our living situation. There is so much more that we feel we are missing (although the brunch I talked about earlier helped.) and will look for in our next adventure. Only time can tell, though.